Ain't No Business Like Monkey Business

Coming to you live from Liberty Lake Washington is Proving Grounds
the Northwest’s premier amateur Mixed Martial arts Promotion.
Founded in 2010 by Joel Thomas Proving Grounds has become the hub of amateur MMA in Washington showcasing some of the best up and coming amateur fighters in the region and giving them their own unique platform to showcase their skills.
The Fighting Monkey had a chance to sit down with Joel ahead of there July 22nd event and find out a little More About Proving Grounds.

when was your first show ?
My first show was June 19th 2010.
What is the idea or concept behind Proving Grounds ?
Proving grounds is an amateur event that is designed for fighters to prove themselves in the cage before they turn professional. We have top-level amateurs competing for belts to prove that they have what it takes to compete as a professional athlete.

What challenges have you faced in building Proving Grounds ?
Right now one of our biggest challenges is that we don’t have enough local fighters. WarriorCamp is the largest gym in the greater area and all of the other gyms in town don’t have enough fighters to ensure good competition. We have had to bring fighters in from Canada, Oregon, Montana and Idaho to fill our amateur fight cards.

When is your next event ?
July 22nd we have a fight card every month. The following dates are August 12th, September 14th and October 9th.

What can fans look forward to when they come out to watch a Proving Grounds event ?
Proving grounds is one of the only Washington State sanctioned amateur MMA cards. We also have the closest match-ups in Washington. We don’t match make to build records but match make to put on an amazing card for the fans. You will see great match-ups at the entry level fighters and pro level amateurs competing for belts for the co-main and main events.

What Separates Proving Grounds from the rest of the promotions out there ?
For the same reason as stated above in the previous question.

What can we look forward to in the future from your promotion ?
We are looking into getting our event televised and streamed live over the internet.

To Stay up to date with upcoming events from proving grounds head over and check out there Facebook page and give it a like